A/n: Hey guys, letting you know that the majority of this chapter is just a filler! At the end, I'll let you guys know the current Poll results.

Since the game against Maimon, the Seidou baseball team had been the center of attention around school.

"AH! There!" A couple of first year girls squealed. They peeked into a classroom, where the first year Furuya sat at his desk. "See that boy?" One of the girls pointed in the direction of the pitcher.

"Somehow, he's completely different from on the mound." Another girl whispered amongst her friends. At his desk, Furuya was dozing off. His eyes were closed and drool began dripping from the corner of his lips. In his hands, a book was opened.

"But he was really amazing." The third girl of the group swooned. "I'm sure he'll get more attention in the future."

The girls pulled away from the door. "Maybe I'll be cheering for him by myself!" The first girl squealed quietly.

"Hey!" The second had whined. "I had my eyes on him first!"

In another classroom down the hall from Furuya's class, two of the baseball team's first years sat in the same room. Haruichi sat at his desk, toward the back of the class. His eyes were solely trained to the book in his hands.

"Ahh...that boy is the number 19!" One of Haruichi's classmates whispered to his companion.

"Cute.. He looks like a girl." The other smirked. Overhearing the comment, Haruichi tried his hardest to keep his expression passive.

In the next row over and more towards the center of the class, Eijun was bent over his desk. The pitcher's eyes were half closed in exhaustion. An awkward smile was on his face, with drool pooling around his desk. As he breathed, weird sounds escaped past his lips. "S-Sawamura's making strange sounds again!"

"His eyes are open and for some reason, he's smiling!" Another classmate had shivered.

In the third year building, four of Seidou's regulars walked down the hall together. The students paused, amazed by the aura that they radiated. Yuuki, Jun, Masuko, and Ryousuke didn't bother with the stares of their classmates.

"You've got a game tomorrow, right?"

"We'll come to cheer you on once summer vacation starts."

"Tetsu~~ Hit a homerun!"

"Masuko's stomach is growling.."

"Isashiki, howl!!"

"Give your best, baseball club!"

"Testsu-san~~"

"Make it to Koushien this year for sure!"

The crowd cheered for the amazing third year baseball students.

In the second year building, the only two second year regulars were arguing. Miyuki was sitting at his desk near the window. His mouth was opened, with laughs escaping. Kuramochi was in front of the catcher's desk. He tugged at Miyuki's collar, yelling incoherent words. Their classmates watched, not attempting to separate the two. It was often a normal occurrence.

"Those two are fighting again?"

"But it's always those two.."

"Don't they have any friends?"

Esumi was walking down the hall, toward the catcher and shortstop's classroom. In her hands were piles of papers that her teacher had asked to deliver. Her eyes were trained to the ground, not bothering to look up at the people around her. The whispers were evident.

"She's number 9 on the team right?"

"She didn't do much in the last game."

"Can she even really play?"

Esumi sighed. The comments were not unusual for her. In fact, she heard them almost every game they had. The spectators always belittled her. 'I have to do something to prove my worth.' She thought. 'But what can I-'

"Of course she can play." The familiar voice brought Esumi from her thought. She looked from the ground to a figure standing down the hallways. The whispers had stopped the moment those words left the person's mouth.

"Miyuki-senpai." Esumi muttered. The catcher grinned at the first year. He strode up to her, taking the papers from the girl's arms. He turned to the people that were speaking badly about Esumi.

'They know nothing about her.' Miyuki growled inwardly. 'How can they so easily judge her?'

"Esumi-chan is an amazing right fielder. She has speed and power." Miyuki addressed. "So don't be quick to judge her because the moment you do, Esumi-chan will blow you away." The catcher smirked, glancing back to the right fielder. Esumi tilted her head, a grin of her own forming.

Whispers began to take place again. This time they all spoke about how Miyuki defended the girl. The catcher led Esumi away. "Thank you senpai." Her voice was soft. It took Miyuki by surprise. Her voice hasn't been like that since Tanba got injured.

"Oi." Miyuki spoke after a short moment of silence. He looked back at the fielder, waiting for a response. Esumi hummed, to let her upperclassman know that she was listening. "Don't let what those guys say bother you. They don't know half of the work you put into training." Esumi laughed. She tried to hide it by covering her mouth with her right hand. "O-oi..don't laugh!" Miyuki flushed.

"Sorry." Esumi apologized. "But I wasn't bothered by their words." Esumi ran ahead of Miyuki by a couple steps. She turned around and grinned at the catcher. "I was just thinking about what I could do to prove them wrong." The brunette laughed again seeing the catcher's face. "I still appreciate what you did."

"Tell no one.." Miyuki muttered under his breath, looking away from the first year. His face turned a darker shade of red. Esumi continued to laugh, heading to the catcher's classroom. Miyuki glanced from the corner of his eyes. The right fielder was skipping a few feet in front of him. Every now and then, Esumi would look back to make sure that he was still following.

~__!__~

Later on in the day, baseball practice began. In the bullpen, Kataoka and Miyuki prepped the team's ace for the field again. Miyuki sat across the bullpen, crouched down. Tanba prepared to pitch at the small, makeshift mound. Kataoka stood at the sidelines to observe Tanba's movements.

"While you're getting the feeling back, don't over do it." Kataoka stated, with his arms crossed as usual. "When you're warmed up, have Miyuki catch for you."

"YES!" Tanba replied.

Miyuki smirked, thinking about the last month without Tanba. "Tanba-san! One more!!" He called enthusiastically. Tanba smirked back, and set for another throw. "Nice ball! It's getting better and better."

While Kataoka worked with Miyuki and Tanba, Furuya was ordered to run laps. The team knew that he was the pitcher with the least amount of stamina. They had to get Furuya to raise his stamina as much as possible.

On the other hand, Takashima and Chris worked with Eijun. The older twin was pitching into a net, while the other stood observed from behind. Eijun let the ball roll of his fingertips and the small object flew into the net a couple feet away. "How's that? The straight ball of the evolved me!!" The first year declared proudly.

"Too high." Chris stated bluntly. "How often do you want me to say it?" Takashima laughed quietly.

"Did you teach him to grab the ball like that?" Takashima questioned Chris. Eijun threw another baseball into the net. Chris glanced at the recruiter.

"Yes." Chris replied. "It's just the four seam, the basic of a straight..." Chris mentally pictured the way a four seam would be held. "Until now, he threw without giving the seams any thought. In the game with Kokushikan, where Sawamura pitched...the pitch Zaizen swung out on was a four seam thrown by coincidence. That is if he becomes a pitcher that controls his own pitches in the future."

Takashima tried to think about the reckless first year being conscious of his pitches. "Sorry, but I can't picture that at all right now."

"Please consider the long term.." Chris responded.

"Chris-senpai." Furuya panted, catching the third year's attention. "I'm done with running."

Chris looked toward the tired out male. "Then go to the bullpen and use your shoulder." The retired catcher ordered. "Now you can throw without putting in needless strength." He smirked at the bewildered expression on Furuya's face. "Maybe we should let you run before a game too.." Chris mused. Furuya froze, not favoring the idea of running before a game in this summer heat.

"To a first year, it might be intense demands," Takashima added in. "But your strength is needed to advance through this summer." The woman glanced at the stoic first year. "Because until Tanba-kun gets back, you're our ace." She stated.

Eijun listened in on the conversation. But hearing Takashima call Furuya 'ace' utterly shocked him. The title of ace was supposed to be his role, his position! Esumi, Wakana, and all of his friends were expecting him to carry that title. But here it was, being given to his rival!

~__!__~

It was the next day, July 20th.

The sun was scorching hot. It was even hotter than the day before. Seidou was back at the baseball stadium, preparing to go against their second rival, Murata East. The 3rd round was beginning.

Furuya was on the mound. His arms were up, about to pitch the baseball. Murata's coach, Ishibashi Takashi, frantically yelled and signed to his batter.Furuya went through the motions of pitching. Murata's batter cringed, his body tensed and prepared to swing against the monster throw.

A strike.

Furuya quickly reset and threw another ball.

Another strike.

In the stands, Seidou's cheerleaders screamed Furuya's name. The second string loudly yelled for a strikeout. Murata's dugout was deadly silent.

The final strike. The batter was out.

It was the bottom of the third. Seidou was already ahead, with the score 5 to 0. With the final batter out, Seidou made their way back to the dugout. Esumi patted Furuya on the back. She smiled at him. "You're way too strong Furuya-kun." She laughed, and went ahead to the dugout. Furuya's face went red.

"I'm telling you, you're throwing too hard!" Kuramochi laughed loudly. Ryousuke came up from behind and smacked Furuya's head.

"He really doesn't listen to advice." Miyuki sighed in response. Yuuki silently laughed at the sight, with Jun marching besides him.

"Don't faint on us!" Kuramochi jumped to kick the first year. Masuko went ahead, following Esumi.

'I won't..' Furuya thought, still on a high from what Takashima said the day before. 'Because I'm the ace.'

'He's getting more and more lively after being told he's the ace.' Eijun growled. Esumi walked into the dugout, taking shelter from the hot sun. "Ei-nii?" She questioned, feeling the killing aura radiating from her twin brother.

Eijun spun toward Esumi, taking her right arm between his two hands. "Esu! You're supposed to be on my side!" He yelled in both desperation and anger. Esumi smiled in confusion.

"I-I..am on your side.." Esumi had no idea what her brother was talking about.

~__!__~

The game progressed onward to the bottom of the fourth. The difference in score had even gotten wider. At the bottom of the fourth, the score was now 8 to 0 in Seidou's favor.

"An eight point difference in the 4th inning!"

"Seidou's strong after all.."

"Guess it'll be a called games again?"

A couple students in the stands discussed amongst themselves. They were from a different school, researching their potential opponent. One of the students caught movement behind him. He turned, calling out to his friend. "Hey, Shun! You don't need to watch anymore?" He asked his friend, who was apparently leaving.

"That first year's pitch is really fast!" Another student said warily. "Most of the outs are strikeouts."

"Heh." A male was short black hair and glasses looked away. "If it's just a fast pitcher, there are plenty of countermeasures." He turned back to the field, glancing at the battery that Seidou was sending in at the top of the fifth inning.

"LET'S SHUT THEM DOWN!" Miyauchi yelled loudly. Kawakami was now on the mound, turned toward the outer fields.

"Yeah!" The side armed pitcher agreed.

'What we need to be wary of is their powerful batting order...' The male with the glasses thought to himself. His back was turned away from the field.

By the dugout, Miyuki was throwing a baseball back and forth with Furuya. Though, the latter's attention was more focused on the fact that he was replaced with Kawakami. "Where are you looking?" Miyuki called toward the first year. "Hurry and throw already! You're pumped up with strength right? I'll let you throw as much as you want. C'mon!" Miyuki ushered, holding his mitt.

As Furuya appealed off the mound, cheers suddenly erupted from the stands. Miyuki and Furuya turned. Besides them was Haruichi and Eijun, who were also playing catch. On the field, Yuuki ran around the diamond. He had hit a homerun, also bringing Jun and Esumi back to home plate.

"OHHH! A direct hit on the back screen!"

"Three runs!"

"With that it's an eleven point difference in the fifth inning!"

"IT'S A CALLED GAME!"

Jun and Esumi waited for Yuuki to get back home. As the first baseman neared, Jun smirked. "Pretty rare for you to aim for a home run." He looked toward the captain.

"Yuuki-senpai, nice batting." Esumi smiled, holding her hands up for a high five. Yuuki smiled a bit, tapping his hands against hers.

"Considering what's ahead of us, I want our pitchers to rest a bit." The captain nodded his head, answering Jun's previous statement.

"Well, good thing it worked senpai." Esumi nodded toward the pitchers that were off the mound.

"You're too good, captain!" The rest of the Seidou members from the dugout rushed out. They greeted Yuuki with high fives and cheers of joy.

"Again over at the 5th?" Eijun said under his breath . His mouth was agape in amazement.

With that last hit from Yuuki, the game was ended. The score was 11-0, with Seidou having taken the lead.

Both teams lined up accordingly and bowed toward one another.

Seidou was now advancing to the fourth round.

Seidou's dugout was cleaned out. The members packed their things into their individual bags. Esumi lingered behind, placing her bag upon her shoulder. She looked up to the stands, seeing a group of teens getting ready to leave as well. Esumi noticed a particularly tall male with short, straight, black hair. Covering grey eyes were thin, rectangular glasses. His back was already turned and exiting the stadium. Behind him, a group of males followed.

"You Shunshin..." Esumi whispered. She watched at the male and his group disappeared from her line of sight.

"Esumi-chan?" Ryousuke called, appearing in front of the right fielder. The sudden appearance of the second baseman startled Esumi.

"Ryousuke-senpai." The poor girl sighed, placing her right hand over chest. "Is something wrong?"

"Not in particular." The pink haired third year smiled. "But we almost left you behind." He tilted his head in the direction of the team. They were already halfway to the exit, waiting for Ryousuke and Esumi to catch up.

"Ah, sorry." Esumi bowed her head slightly. "I think I just saw our next opponent." She glanced back to where she saw the blacked haired male in the stands.

"Next opponent?" Ryousuke question, as the two caught up to the others. Esumi smiled, shaking her head.

"I'll explain later." She concluded. Esumi waved her hand, before running over to her brother.

"After you're done with your stretching, get some food from the stands!" Kataoka ordered his team.

"YES!"

"We all will watch the third game that follows now." Kataoka explained. "The one who wins that will be our next opponent." Hearing that, Ryousuke glanced at the young freshman girl a few feet away.

Esumi felt eyes staring in her direction. She looked around for a moment, then catching the second baseman's eye. She smiled knowingly. Esumi nodded her head, silently agreeing to show Ryousuke what she had meant earlier.

A/N:

Current Poll Results:

Haruichi- 14

Miyuki- 14

Narumiya- 1

Furuya- 3

Jun- 15

Chris- 1

Kuramochi- 3

Keep on coming with those votes!